


There's Been a Tragedy in the Family

by PapaKapkan



Series: And Then There Were None... [2]
Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Death, M/M, Multi, Revenge, Violence, also idk, hey more ppl die, i made up some family for jager, theres a lot happening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-06-26 22:50:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15672894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PapaKapkan/pseuds/PapaKapkan
Summary: Two years later, just when everything was seeming ok again and a tragedy happens. One of Marius's cousins is found dead, throat slit just outside his charred home. Three operators have gone AWOL and are on a killing spree. What do they want? Why? Why now after so long?





	1. Prologue

The young blond German chattered relentlessly into his cell phone, hardly stopping for anything. He was pretty excited about some.. Raise… or was it a promotion, the man couldn’t tell. His heart was numb. With Grace dead he only had his sights on one thing. The blind man’s suffering. He watches the younger German through the window. Dark brown eyes were watching the blue-eyed man, waiting for a moment to break in. This young man doesn’t like to lock his windows, preferring to leave them wide open to let in the nice autumnal breeze to cool and air out his lovely little home out here in the outskirts of the city. It was safe, comfortable. But not anymore. No more safety for the Streicher’s. They are not allowed to have that little bit of comfort anymore. 

 

The German finally moved, leaving the wide kitchen for the living room, but then, for the patio, making the dark eyed man’s job a lot easier. He snuck around, careful not to rustle the well-kept rose bushes as he snuck around to the front of the house. The man wasn’t paying any attention as he hung up the nice iPhone and set it down on the table as the picturesque man took out a cigarette and lit it up. He sighed as he leaned against the railing. The dark eyed man took this as his time to strike. A sharp blade in his hand he leapt forward for the kill. A cigarette fell from the pale man’s hands, blue eyes dulled with his life being taken forcefully from him. 

 

The body was left there on the deck and the man left making one call on the cell phone as a fire started to spark in the dry wood of the deck. Firefighters and police arrived on scene what felt like minutes later, a dead body, a fire, and nobody knew what had happened. The man felt at ease in his hotel room 20 miles away crossing off yet another face in an old photo album he stole from one of the family’s homes. Three down. Many more to go.


	2. Gilles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilles meets up with Gustave and Marius after the funeral of Marius' cousin, three operators gone AWOL comes with a lot of concern. And questions.

The sun was warm against Gustave’s skin. It was mid afternoon three days after they got the news of Marius’ cousins’ death. The music that played was melancholic and it made Gustave wonder what the area actually looked like. He knows only what he can hear, smell, and feel physically. He is still incredibly bitter about his blindness as he reaches out to feel Marius’ hand in his own, comforted by the familiar feel his calloused hands, which were growing somewhat softer in his time out of the GSG9. He felt a tug on his hand and knew Marius was leading him somewhere else, into the shade as he felt the sun less warm on his skin. The air was cooler and he could hear the tree branches brushing against each other in the breeze. The breeze did further work to keep the men cool. Marius didn’t like to be warm, and Gustave didn’t mind the sun keeping him warmer, but Marius preferred the cooler air. Gustave heard heavy boots crunching in the leaves. He could smell something similar to cinnamon, but also kind of a spice, like chai, it was all a warm scent. He couldn’t place the familiarity of it. Then the figure approaching spoke and the dots fell into place. 

“Hey, Marius, Gustave. How are the Streicher’s doing this morning? I am sorry for the loss.” Gilles Touré spoke, his warm voice causing a wave of relief but also confusion in the Frenchman. 

“Ah, good morning to you, too, Gilles. We are doing just fine. What are you doing here?” Marius answered for the both of them. He pulled Gustave closer to him as he spoke, he could hear the taller Frenchman shifting his feet, the leaves crunching beneath his boots. Gustave could imagine him exactly how he last saw him, heavy gear and armor donned on. His boots laced up good and tight. He felt comforted by the familiar image in his mind. 

“Hmm, yes. That is incredibly important, the reason I am here actually.” Gustave raised an eyebrow at the other man’s words.

“What is then? Spit out, mon ami.” Gustave said, a teasing tone in his voice, concern was still evident however in his facial expression. 

“We had three operators go AWOL. We have reason to believe at least one of them is out for you two.” he replied, concern was woven into his own silky voice and Gustave had only one question.

“Why?” he blurted out, Marius almost started speaking when Gilles continued. 

“Vigil at least is out for blood, to avenge Dokkaebi. We don’t know why he waited so long, but he’s ready now and we believe he is the one responsible for the death of your cousin, Marius, as well as others.” he said. 

“He has waited a while, did something perhaps trigger this sudden need for bloodshed?” Gustave asked, remembering how Vigil and Dokkaebi had become… too close. They were in a relationship that he himself had advised against. 

“That’s what some people are trying to figure out. But Mira and Capitão are also AWOL. We don’t know if it is related either, as everyone knows that Mira and Jackal were engaged, and we don’t know about Capitão, or even why, he’s completely gone off the grid, but we believe that Mira is probably aiding Vigil.” Gilles replied. The warm aura around him made him feel safe despite now knowing that they are being hunted down by vigil. Taunted even, by the death’s of relatives. 

“What do we do?” Marius asked, his voice cracked as he spoke, he sounded as if he was on the verge of tears. 

“Six set up a team, a protection detail. Ying, Mute, Twitch, and me.” he spoke, a confidence rose in his voice. 

“Wow, that was pretty quick. That sounds great, do we have to leave our home?” Gustave asked, surprise leaking into his voice, making it sound slightly panicked. 

“No, I talked six into having us secure your home, as it will be difficult for you especially to acclimate to a new situation, I would rather not put you through that trouble.” He said, Gustave could imagine Gilles raising his hands up as he spoke just like he always did. Leaves crunch as his position changed again. 

“But how will that protect us if they get through you guys? We all know how Vigil’s gadget works.” Marius asked, worry tearing into his voice. 

“That’s why we have Mute. The genius has already made a replica of Vigil’s gear and made certain he could jam it with his jammers. Which he has made a prototype that will secure a wider range of area, he intends to set a couple inside the house, also bringing a few others. Yeah, all of our stuff will be jammed, but he’s working on making a loophole for communication out as well so that if something happens, we are not totally screwed.” Gilles explained. Marius made a satisfied sound as he huffed. 

“Ok, that sounds fine by me, to be perfectly honest. That’s better than I thought it could be.” Marius said. 

“Let’s head back to your house, I’ll give the others a call to come out. We figured you guys would be ok with it, Six wants us to get straight to work immediately. We hope to catch our AWOL operators.” Gilles spoke. 

Satisfied, the three men left. Before Gutsave was tugged away gently by Marius, he heard a crack that sounded further away than GIlles was. He let it slide as Marius stroked his arm lovingly. He wondered what the future holds now, although he decided to himself that his former teammates would keep them safe. He trusts in them fully, and he knows they would trust him if he felt as if something was wrong.


	3. We were never safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don’t hate me.

Their home was noisier than usual, Gustave had trouble navigating with all the extra bodies in their home. He could not get used to all the noise. He had a memory, a flashback, of Dominic. And his brother. He remembered a text on his phone, well before he left it abandoned in a box somewhere in the house. Dominic had texted him. They had broken it off, but he still wondered. He had many questions about what could have happened if he just told his secret. But he decided that Marius didn’t need to know anymore than he did. He’s still overly broken about his friend’s death. Better to keep it that way. Mark R. Chandar, the young genius himself, cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the Frenchman.

 

“Hey, how are you doing, Doc?” the young man asked quietly. He smiled as he turned around in the direction of his voice. 

 

“Ah, I’m doing ok. You don’t have to call me by my callsign anymore, I’m retired, Mute.” He said, calling the young man by his own callsign. 

 

“Then don’t call me by mine. We are in the comfort of your home, after all.” he replied, he could hear him bouncing on the balls of his feet. Mark was always energetic, readily acting when he was needed, too. Gustave nodded at the young operator’s word. He was so full of promise and hope. The smartest person he’d ever met, and he’s sucked up to that parasite Smoke. Gustave can’t help but admire that the brilliant man has tamed the rowdy SAS operative, and he can imagine how the other misses him already. He thought back to his own time with Dominic, he couldn’t help himself, so he immediately cleared his mind and addressed the younger man.

 

“Well, then,  _ Mark _ it is then, how has everything been treating you.” he asked the man in his room. 

 

“I’m good, but I think you’d like to know how  _ Cedrick _ is doing, no? Six sent me some news to give to you.” he speaks, the Frenchman perks up at the words. 

 

“How is  _ he _ doing? I would like to know…” He spoke, lowering his voice. 

 

“He’s good, he’s concerned since he heard about the AWOL ops. I accidentally let something slip. But he wants you to be careful.” Mark responded, also lowering his voice, understanding that this is touchy information.

 

“That is good then, you should get back to the others. I’m sure you want to work on your prototype, yes?” Gustave responded, and Mark nodded in response. The Frenchman heard Mark leave the room, his light steps hardly making a sound as he walked. He turned back to where he was originally facing. The window was in front of his body, but as per usual, he has no idea what is outside of it. He placed his hand on the cold glass visualizing what he decided to believe was out there. The scene Marius had described to him a thousand times before. The team was busy setting up and he could hear the laughter exchanged between them all. He smelled something familiar. Marius. He smelled like engine grease and salt. He noticed it about a week after he went blind, and he always smells like that. It’s a scent he can never forget, a fond one. 

 

“Hey, you wanna come down to the living room, we’ve got some snacks, the television is on, but you don’t have to pay attention to it if you don’t want to.” Marius’ voice was quiet. He turned around in his chair and he stood up. 

 

“Sure, I could enjoy some snacks, and plus you can tell me what’s happening. I assume they’ve put on some sports.” Gustave responded to his husband. 

 

“Of course.” he said, Gustave could almost hear the smile in his voice. He felt a pang of guilt for half a second, but immediately let is slide away. He let his husband lead him downstairs and into the living room where all the bustling noise was coming from. The smell of popcorn overwhelmed his senses. He could smell the mingling scent of several people and the sound of laughter and sports on the television, just like he predicted filled the room. He wanted to sit down but Emmanuelle got to him before he could could be led to an open chair. 

 

“Gustave! How are you doing!” the younger French woman practically screamed over the noise. The scent of pine trees mingling with her natural scent of cinnamon and vanilla. She must have been hanging around Lera. 

 

“I’m doing good,” he considers,  “you’ve been around Finka a lot haven’t you?” 

 

“OH, uh, nothing can get past you can it, ahah!” she laughed, he could practically imagine the flustered look on her face. 

 

“Don’t worry about it, Emma, she likes you, you know. I’m happy for you.” he spoke, trying to make her feel less embarrassed. He remembered the last time the Belarusian woman talked to him. She sought him out in secret to ask about Emmanuelle. She wanted to find out how to woo the crafty French woman. He just told her to be herself and be genuine with her. She seemed satisfied with that response. 

 

“OH? I didn’t know… I… I should talk to her next time I see her…” she had turned away and started walking away as she spoke. Gustave smiled as he heard her already mumbling to herself about how she would bring it up to the Belarusian. Gustave relaxed, but immediately felt tense again. He could feel eyes on him, but from where, he had no idea. He grabbed the nearest person, who happened to be Gilles.

 

“Hey.” Gustave spoke. 

 

“What’s wrong? You look spooked.” he asked, the warm scent of his friend flowed into his senses. 

 

“I feel like someone is watching me, is anyone staring?” Gustave asked, he could hear Gilles shift and turn until he responded. 

 

“No, most everybody is watching the TV, I’ll get Ying and we’ll go outside to to check it out.” He spoke and Gutsave could hear him and Ying speak for a few moments before the sound of the front door shutting behind them. 

 

An hour passed as Gustave talked to Emma and Mark. Marius was probably in his room, Gustave thought to himself. He was entertained by the witty remarks exchanged between the three of them, and so he didn’t think much about it until Mark asked.

 

“Hey, where’s Marius?” he asked Gustave. Gustave shrugged.

 

“Lemme go get him, he’s probably napping. If he is I won’t bother him, but I’ll go check for you. Stay here, I won’t be long.” Gustave spoke as he started making his way to the stairs. He felt around for the railing. Once finding it he took the stairs up and made his way into their shared room. 

 

“Marius, amour? Are you ok?” he spoke quietly. He found the bed and felt it to be empty. He furrowed his brows and began walking into the other side of the room. Something heavy was on the floor, soft and heavy. He felt his heart stop as he carefully knelt down to feel barely warm skin under his finger tips. He ran his hand over what he assumed was his husband’s body. He realized there was a scent he didn’t like coming from him, almost masking his natural scent. It was metallic and it gave him a sick feeling. 

 

“Mari?” he asked as he felt something wet on his chest. He found his face with one of his hands and moved it down to his neck. It was slit open and he screamed at the feeling of blood and torn flesh. He fell back from his husband’s body. He had scooted back to the wall not realizing how much he was screaming. Footsteps echoed up the stairs. 

 

“Gustave? Gustave!” Mark cried out, he ran into the room and he stopped just in front of Gustave. Emma gasped in terror and Mute let out a curse, turning to help the Frenchman up.

 

“I’ll go get Gilles and Siu Mei, Mark.” Emmanuelle said as she ran back downstairs. Mark took Gustave into the restroom and began to gently get the blood of his hands and his face where he rubbed one of his hands. Gustave was hyperventilating. 

 

“Hey, calm down, it’s going to be ok. We’ll find them.” Mark reassured him, but neither of the men felt reassured by it. The house felt cold suddenly to Gustave.  _ He _ felt cold. He was gently led back down into the living room and sat down on the couch. The numbness spreading through his body. 

 

“Where is he?” Gilles asked as he entered. Siu was out of breath, her breathing was heavy as they had obviously ran in. 

 

“Upstairs, Siu can you make some tea?” Mark asked, Gustave could hear her run into the kitchen and start tearing open cabinets. Emma settled into a nearby chair and he could hear she was crying. 

 

“How did this happen? We had this place locked down!” She cried out.

 

“Hey, don’t lose your mind, Emma, we will figure it out. It’s going to be fine, we just have to keep our heads now.” Siu Mei spoke as she brought out a hot mug. 

 

“Merci,” Gustave murmured as he gingerly took the mug.

 

“The window is broken, it looks like he came onto him by surprise. Well, or she. We don’t know who it was still.” Gilles said, as he entered the living room. 

 

“We were never safe, were we?” Gustave asked. The silence that filled the room filled him with dread.


	4. All at Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OH my OH my, what have we here.

_ He knew everyone was going to wake up soon, he had woken up thanks to a text to his cell phone. He looked at it, and decided to make a quick call after assessing that everyone was still deeply asleep. The sound indicated it was ringing. The man on the other end picked up. _

 

_ “Hey, Gustave, what’s got you calling this early?” the familiar voice on the other end answered. _

 

_ “I got your text, you’re ok then? What happens now, Dom- sorry… Cedrick.” he felt bad for doing that. He mentally cursed himself for the mix up, “How are you after your brother’s death?” _

 

_ “Ah, don’t worry about me, from what I’ve heard, you have much bigger fish to fry. Try to take care of yourself, ok. You worry too much.” the man on the other end responded. He smiled looking around the room. Seeing the sleeping bodies of his friends.  _

 

_ “Yeah, alright, I’ll take care of myself. Promise me you’ll at least at twice today, ok?” he said, there was silence before the other agreed. _

 

_ “Yeah, fine, but only for you.” he responded. The line went dead after a moment of silence, neither man knowing what to do next. Gustave inhaled deeply, tucking his phone away and then curling back around Marius.  _

 

_ He turned as he heard a new sound, he was torn away from Marius and his mouth and eyes covered as he was dragged away. No matter how hard he squirmed he could not escape the grasp of whoever had taken him. The halls were darker than he remembered. The sun hadn’t quite risen yet. The man dragged him through the halls and up to the chemical labs. Gustave struggled against his captor’s grip trying to get away, fearing his own demise. The man tied him up against the wall, still blindfolded. The sound of cabinets being opened and slammed shut several times as Gustave freaked out. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but he knew that if any of the chemicals in here were used against him, it would hurt. He already knew his death was not going to be kind. He struggled again, uselessly, against the binding around his wrists.  _

 

_ The man seemed to have found what he was looking for and splashed something against his face almost immediately after ripping the blindfold off. At first Gustave felt relief, as nothing seemed to happen, but then… He tried to scream but the cloth tied tightly around his lips kept anything but a muffled sound coming from his lips. He could hear something else being opened and after what felt like forever the man started cleaning up his face. The touch was so gentle and kind, but the terror in Gustave’s heart made him flinch from the touch. Eventually after much struggling the other man cleaned up his face and untied him, a quiet chuckle leaving his lips. Gustave blinked, and blinked, and blinked. But his vision never returned. He pulled the cloth off his face as he shouted, and screamed, tears falling from his eyes. He cried out a name that was no longer able to help him. He crawled along the floor, his hands reaching ahead of him, searching for the door. Blood was beneath his hands, warm and sticky. He started to scream as he felt his husband’s body again. There was blood everywhere, he couldn’t stop screaming. He tried to claw at his face but nothing could bring him back. _

 

Gustave shot awake feeling in front of him, he was laying on his couch in the living room. The events from the day unfolded in his mind again. The nightmare fresh, and his body in a cold sweat. He slowly moved his feet to the floor, careful as he tried to remember where he last heard the voices of his guests sounding off before he slept. His heart was heavy as he went up to his own room. The room he used to share with his husband. He already knows that Gilles and Siu moved the body, but he couldn’t help but feel as if it was still there. He was certain if he had sight he would see it over and over, unable to forget that he would never hear his laugh again. Never hear him hum as he thought, or the feel of his hands as he ran them over his fingers while they walked in the morning. He would never hear the chaotic mess that his lover made in the kitchen as he cooked breakfast for two. He felt tears prick the corners of his eyes as he remembered everything he loved about Marius. He pulled open the closet and pulled out some fresh clothes before making his way to the bathroom. 

 

“What are you doing up, Gustave?” It was Mark, he jumped bumping into a wall hard as the young man spoke. He didn’t even hear him approaching. He was too busy thinking about Marius. 

 

“Ah, I had a nightmare. I just decided I would take a shower, clear my head.” he responded to the younger Brit. He heard him shifting.

 

“I’ll stand outside the bathroom door, we don’t know if whoever killed Marius is still in the house or not, Gilles said it was hard to determine. Too many ways in or out.” he responded, Gustave respected that, and nodded in response. He closed the bathroom door as he left Mark out there. He turned on the water warm, he wanted to relax, after all. When the water was finally warm and he hopped in, he could feel the tension leaving him. At least for a while. All this stress from learning about the ex operators now hunting him down made him too tense. The empty feeling returned to him as he thought about it. He tried to dispel it, instead trying to make a plan on how to progress from there. Marius was his crutch, his support since he lost his sight. 

 

Gustave heard a sound as he turned the water off. A thud. He stood still with the towel in his hands. A second thud. He quickly patted himself dry and threw on his clothes. He threw open the door and shouted cause he could hear Mark choking. Gustave himself had picked up the jar in which the toothbrushes are stored and he threw it, hoping not to hit Mark. He hit his mark, the man choking out the younger man. A cry of pain rang out as Siu ran up the stairs, a pistol fired off and a body dropped. Gustave was reaching out and he found Mark, on the floor. He was catching his breath, but Gustave felt blood on his shoulder. He retracted his hand, but Mark spoke. 

 

“Siu, call and ambulance, this is bad.” Mark said, and the smaller woman scrambled away, he could hear the soft tone of her voice, trying not to panic. 

 

“How bad is  _ bad _ , Mark?” Gustave dared to ask.

 

“If I don’t get to the hospital soon, I’ll die, there’s a nasty hole in my stomach.” he replied. Gustave got up and went into his room, taking one of Marius’ old shirts, almost immediately tearing it apart.

 

“Hold on, I’ll help. Guide me, I can stop the bleeding temporarily until the ambulance comes at least.” Gustave spoke, as he tore the thick t-shirt into strips. 

 

Siu came back up, announcing they would be arriving in 15 minutes. She fetched a couple more t-shirts from Marius’ side of the closet as instructed by the Frenchman and she helped him patch up Mark. Gilles and Emma were looking around the area now, quite in shock from the events taking place. As soon as they got the shirts tied around Mark good enough, Gilles and Siu moved Mark to the living room, telling Gilles to clean up. Emma helped him, making sure he had no blood on his hands or face, as he wiped his hand over his brow at one point. 

 

“Who was it, Emma? That attacked Mark? I couldn’t tell.” Gustave asked her as the wash cloth was gently wiping blood off his face. She paused for a second before answering.

 

“It was Capitão. He must have killed Marius too. But that’s one down, we have to find the others, and  _ hopefully _ catch them alive rather than killing them. Gilles will report to Six later about Capitão.” she said. She had been hesitant to answer, but decided to tell him, as he would probably find out on his own anyways. 

 

“Well, at least we know that he can’t hurt us. Hopefully we do catch the others. I hate being a sitting duck.” Gustave responded. That’s what it felt like to him, being a sitting duck. He almost wished Kapkan was near, he was always good at making everyone feel more comfortable in a situation like this. Although, they all had weapons and could see. He felt bitter about how he was useless.

 

“You’re right, how about I make something to eat. Mark will be ok, and probably even thanks to your quick action.” Emmanuelle said, she gently took his arm and led him back downstairs. He felt relief sitting in the dining room. He turned on the radio nearby, listening to the familiar German streaming out of the device. Marius had taught him German, he can understand 90% of what is on the radio thanks to some of the stations bein partially in English anyways. He could hear Emma in the kitchen and he felt comforted by the familiar sounds of the kitchenware moving about. He ignored the sorrow in his heart knowing that Marius isn’t the one doing it. 

 

“You know-” the young French woman began, the suddenly a gargled sound and a thud. 

 

“Emma?  _ Emma!” _ Gustave screamed as he stood, he grabbed someone’s hand as he felt a knife in his shoulder. A familiar scream sounded as he took the knife and stabbed the woman in front of him. 

 

“Pinche cabrón!” Mira shouted as she tried to get Gustave to let go of the knife, Emma crying in pain in the background and the blood thrumming in his ears as he stabbed, and stabbed, and  _ stabbed _ again and again. Mira kept trying to block the knife but he stabbed into her arms and her hands. Elena stood no match against the Frenchman in his rage and terror. Continually he kept going until she finally stopped moving. He crawled over quickly to Emma. 

 

“Emmanuelle, oh  _ no _ , please, don’t die.” he gasped, the could feel the blood draining from the wound in her chest. “It’s going to be ok, please, just hold on. It’s going to be ok, Gilles! Siu! Please, get over here quick!” he shouted, hoping to get someone over. 

 

“It’s too… late.” she coughed, a wet sound from her throat. “I’ll never get to tell Lera… how much I felt for her” she sighed as she looked up at the man she looked up to for so long. “Please, tell her for me. Tell her I loved her, Gus.”

“No, no, Emma, it’s going to be ok, you’ll see her again, I promise.” He could feel the tears threatening to spill, his throat tightened, he knew she was dying. That it wasn’t ok. 

 

“Don’t cry, I loved you too, just like you were a father to me here in Rainbow. Take care of yourself… don’t for…get...” 

 

She never got to finish whatever she was saying. Gustave could feel the tears falling freely now. He sobbed loudly as he held the young woman, full of promise and love. Now dead and gone like everyone else Gustave cared for. He held her until Gilles and Siu gently pried him away from his dead friend. He felt the numbness in him again, lost another person that he was close to. He felt dizzy as he fell into Gilles’ arms. Darkness consumed him as he fainted. 


	5. Dominic

Gilles felt guilty for having let his guard slip. He paced the living room as Gustave rested on the couch, and he knew that Siu was tense, hardly resting. Pacing the outside of the house. The two already knew Vigil was in the vicinity. Mark had called from ICU, miraculously, and against every doctor’s will to tell them that his prototype jammer caught something. Siu had set up the camera’s that Valkyrie had given to them for this and neither of them saw anything yet. Gilles could feel eyes watching him as he observed the house. All of the lights were on now, and if nothing else, the Korean couldn’t hide in the darkness. Gilles felt extremely bad for Gustave. He hadn’t been taking Emmanuelle’s death very well, and he didn’t exactly blame him. Emma was like a daughter or a little sister to Gustave. She had looked up to the medic. Gilles knew about how Lera and Emma had been dancing around each other for some time now, Lera’s heart is going to shatter when she finds out about Emma’s death. How could everything go so horrifically wrong? He asked himself that question so many times now over the night. Siu screamed at the edge of the forest. Gilles looked out the window just in time to see a shadow move and Siu’s body left in to be seen under the bright moonlight. Gilles pulled the curtains shut and double checked the front door. 

 

It wasn’t going to be long now, he supposed. All he could do now was wait. Wait in horror as he called in the death of Siu Mei. Darkness enveloped the house. He picked up Gustave who was stirring awake. 

 

“What’s happening, Gilles, what was that sound?” he asked. Gilles was tense, he didn’t answer his old friend, despite the concerned look on his face.

 

“It’s nothing. I need you to stay in here and don’t leave no matter what, ok?” he said as he set Gustave down in his own bedroom. He pulled out his pistol and gave it to the shaking medic. Gustave felt the familiar weight of the gun in his hand. 

 

“No, I can’t take this Gilles. You know that, I would be useless with it in my hands, keep it. At least for now.” Gustave said, shoving it back at Gilles. The taller frenchman couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. He took the pistol back and repeated what he said. The warning not to leave.

 

“Hide yourself if you can,” he spoke opening the window. “Don’t under any circumstances give yourself away. I’m going to pretend you left via the window, stay here.”

 

Gustave shoved himself under the bed, waiting in bated breath as Gilles cried out, faking Gustave’s escape. He wondered briefly where Siu Mei went, but the retried medic surmised that she had met her doom and that’s why Gilles changed the plans up a bit. He heard gunshots, two different guns. Several shots went off, seven in total. Gustave tried to slow his breathing as the house stilled. Even the breeze seemed to wait, as if nature was holding its breath with him. The bedroom door opened, he felt his body tense as he heard an unfamiliar walk across the floorboards.  _ Vigil _ .Chyul Kyung leaned over the window pane as he looked outside into the moonlight forest. His only goal was to find and eliminate Gustave Kateb. Gustave tried his best not to move, or breathe too loudly. He had no clue whether he would be safe or not. He could feel the chill entering from the open window. He could feel in his heart Gilles was not alive. He listened however, hopeful that the taller man would come stomping up in here while the Korean searched the room, opening and closing the closet and then peering out the window again.

 

Gustave heard a thud as the quieter man threw himself out the window, probably thinking that Gilles was being true. Gustave took his opportunity to go find Gilles. And find him he did, dead just outside the bedroom. Killed with a shot to the temple. Gustave closed his eyes as he fought back tears. Feeling the wound on his old friend. The front door was opening and he heard a shout.  _ Oh no, now he knows. _ Gustave thought to himself. He picked up the pistol from his dead friend’s hand and shot. He injured the other man. His cry of pain an evident mark of his aim. Still pretty good for being blind. He fired off another shot, but the Korean grabbed his arm and violently twisted it. A painful snap sounded in the hall, his arm broken as Gustave screamed in pain. He tried to drag himself away, but the other had a good hold on his now broken arm.

 

“I’m going to make you  _ pay _ . Grace’s death could have been avoided, if only,  _ if only _ you had seen past your own concerns to pay attention to those around you. He could have been  _ stopped,  _ Kateb!” Vigil screamed at him, his voice uncharacteristically raised. Gustave could feel the blood thrumming in his veins and he could see himself back in Hereford. He could hear Julien and Eliza talking to him, he screamed as the knife was dug into his skin. He was torn out of the illusion as he thought Eliza was stabbing him, but he remembered where he was. He could feel the gashes on his chest as Vigil brought the knife back down again, he screamed something he couldn’t understand in Korean. But instead of pain, a gunshot rang out through the house. One last shot and a dead weight was on top of Gustave. He cried as he could feel himself growing cold. A familiar voice rang in his ears over the talking of all his dead friends. The memories taking over. 

 

“Hey, its ok! Gustave, I brought the ambulance with me!” a pressure on his chest and stomach, his hearing was fading, everything was fading. “Stay with me!” 

 

“Gustave,  _ nein,  _ oh no, oh  _ no _ , please, Mark! You have to do something!” a familiar voice.  _ Dominic? _

 

“Hold on, help me carry him-” their voices faded as he felt himself grow too cold. 

 

_ Three years ago _ :

_ “Haha, very funny, liebling. Now what do you say to a toast, to us.” Cedrick spoke raising the glass in his hand. Dominic and Gustave laughed at Dominic’s poor attempt at a joke.  _

 

_ “You have to admit, at least he tried.” Gustave said as he pointed to the spray nozzle attached to the sink. _

 

_ “Yeah, to get me to look like a wet rat again!” he said, sending a glare to his twin.  _

 

_ “Hey, I thought it was worth a shot, gotta keep you on your toes, brother.” Dominic said, a teasing glint in his eyes. Cedrick rolled his eyes as he walked by Gustave, planting a kiss on his cheek.  _

 

_ “Don’t encourage him, you know you’re next!” he said teasing Gustave.  _

 

_ “Oh please, if I fall for something as silly as that, it will be a wake up call to remind me I need more coffee!” he laughed back at the twin. Cedrick shook his head, knowing full well that they’ve all fallen for the dumb trick before. _

 

_ Two years ago:  _

 

_ “I shouldn’t-” Dominic started. _

 

_ “It’s not your fault, Dominic. How could we have known that Julien…” Gustave started, but the tears that fell from his eyes were too much.  _

 

_ “I knew I shouldn’t have accepted this undercover mission. I knew something was up, but I assumed it would all be ok. If I had waited, none of this would have happened, Gustave!” Dominic berated himself, he shook violently from the rage he held. He blamed himself for it all. _

 

_ “It’s not your fault! Dominic, listen! Even if you hadn’t, it could have been you, he drugged your brother. He drugged him. And now? Those of us who knew, we have to pretend that you’re  _ dead _! I hate this, it’s not fucking fair. None of this is.” Gustave said, the two were crying.  _

 

_ “You take care of Marius for me, that’s all I ask. Keep your ears open for him, make sure he doesn’t collapse on himself. We both know what he’s like. Maybe one day… we could be together again. Hopefully Marius won’t be mad when that day comes….” the German trailed off. _

 

_ “If it ever does. I know you, you won’t want to shatter Marius’ world like that. I wouldn’t. Not so soon anyways, have you got clearance to go back into Rainbow yet? Or are you still playing dead?” Gustave asked. _

 

_ “Dead. For now. Six said to give it another year before I return. They’ve been slowly telling the higher ups that I’m not dead. Trying to slowly reintegrate me, you know? It’ll be awhile before I can go back. They can’t just throw me in there and yell “surprise!” quite yet, it’s too soon after that mission, and Cedrick’s death.” he responded. Gustave nodded.  _

 

_ Now:  _

 

_ “It’s going to be ok, liebling, just hold on tight for me, ok? I’m back, and I promise I’m not leaving you, I can’t lose you, not after Cedrick!”  _

 

The last thing he heard before the silence, everything playing through his mind. Dominic’s touch and his voice the only comfort left. Darkness.

 

Darkness. 


End file.
